


Red

by shelby21



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Complete, F/M, Green Arrow - Freeform, One Shot, hood, olicity - Freeform, red arrow - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2013-10-21
Packaged: 2017-12-30 02:46:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shelby21/pseuds/shelby21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy and Thea deal with his past and when she pushes him away, will they be able to reconnect? Or will Oliver keep Roy away from Thea? Complete One Shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red

**Thea POV**

"Mind if we stop for some lattes? I'll buy." My eyes widen as I smile trying to make Laurel agree to stop. She sighed before nodding.

 

"There's a place around the corner." Smiling, I began to walk a little faster into a small coffee shop. As I was walking in, I turned back to hold open the door for Laurel and suddenly felt hot liquid on me.

 

"Excuse me..." My head turned, ready to yell but I found a pair of apologetic eyes staring at me along with a model face.

 

"I'm so sorry. Let me get you some napkins." The boy rushed inside and I walked a few steps away from the door. He held out the napkins and I took them, wiping the coffee off of my coat. Thank god I wore my black one today.

 

"It happens." I finally speak since the boy keeps apologizing. Laurel goes to the counter to order while I toss the wet napkins in the trash.

 

"Thea...Thea Queen." I say holding out a hand.

 

"Roy Harper." He takes my hand and gives it a slight shake before dropping it. Laurel returns with two cups. She hands me mine and I give a short wave to Roy before leaving the shop. As we walk past the window, I look back inside to see him staring at me still.

 

"Well at least it was your black coat." Laurel says to me.

 

"Yeah, guess the universe doesn't want me drinking lattes." We both laugh a little, trying to move our thoughts away from the coffee incident. The street isn't too busy today and the day is actually quite nice.

 

"That might be true but you are going to need a latte for all the work I have for you today." Laurel smiles while I cringe.

 

Finally the day is all done and the car pulls into my driveway. Mom insisted that Diggle pick me up for some unknown reason. I open the door to the house, prepared to walk up stairs and sleep until dinner. Oliver has others plans for me though.

 

"Thea, I want you to have Diggle drive you from now on in the Glades. Someone got their purse snatched today, Tommy saw it while driving to see Laurel."

 

"I can handle myself." Oliver was annoying as this protective older brother. Thanks to him, Mom had grounded me for the first time ever. I sighed and went to leave the room when his hand reached out for my arm. His usually tense expression dropped to show a look of concern.

 

"Well being a billionaire doesn't exactly help your odds, okay?" Groaning, I agreed and went upstairs. I was too tired to fight with Ollie. I flipped on the tv as I changed into some pajamas. Of course an Abercrombie commercial came on and my thoughts drifted to Roy.

 

The next day, I stopped at the coffee shop again and waited for a few minutes, hoping to see Roy. He seemed different than my usual crowd, granted my usual crowd were rich snobs, and he did seem very apologetic the other day. Just as I am about to give up hope, I see him walk by the shop and rush after him. Well rush as much as I can in these heels.

 

"Roy!" He stops and turns around, a red hoodie is pulled over his head but he smiles when he sees me.

 

"Are you stalking me?" He chuckles and I step closer to him.

 

"Maybe. I was wondering if you might be interested in hanging out after I'm done with work." I suggest, normally I'm not this forward but it had been a few weeks since I had a date...or even a semblance of a date. 

 

"That sounds fun but why exactly is a rich girl chasing some guy from the Glades?" I could hear the confusion in his voice and I held down my anger. Sure my family was rich, and I loved it, but I was sick of being the rich girl. Maybe that's why Oliver went along with the whole playboy persona even though it was clearly not fitting to his new personality. 

 

"I happen to believe that you are more than just some guy. There's something intriguing about you." I deflected his rich girl comment and decided on a compliment, I knew how to get a guy interested. Everyone liked to be complimented. Plus, I was intrigued. He seemed to be a little built and had some manners as it seemed from the over-apologizing. Honestly, he looked a little like a bad boy though and well, I hated to admit it but I liked bad boys. 

 

"Very well. What did you have in mind?" I could tell that my compliment had eased him a little.

 

"We can go somewhere to eat, my treat since I'm asking you to spend time with me. You know us rich girls can be very annoying." I joke with him but really I just don't want him to feel pressured into having to pay for dinner. He shrugs.

 

"Sounds good. How about I meet you here about five?" I nod and smile at him.

 

"Okay, you better be here." He laughs, rasing his eyebrows at me. 

 

"Free dinner with you? I'll be here early." Roy smiles warmly and I take off for work.

 

 

**Three Months Later...Roy and Thea are now dating.**

  


I stare through the glass at Roy sitting in the interrogation room. I had trusted him, and part of me had fallen for him. The whole time it was a lie, he was just a criminal. Granted I was attracted to the bad boy image but I didn't want a criminal. I wanted someone who wasn't afraid to break a few rules. Breaking a few laws was something I had put in my past, especially after working at CNRI. 

 

"Petty theft, petty theft, larceny, petty theft, and oh, stolen car. Way to change it up. Look here, petty theft and we can add that to list again after you are found guilty. You do realize that stealing is illegal, right?" Detective Lance says and I can't imagine having him be my father, he is a great interrogator. My father was easy-going and he let Ollie and I do whatever we wanted. Even Walter wasn't too controlling, not that I'd let him tell me what to do. Walter was good at listening and understanding. From Ollie's depictions of Detective Lance, he seemed to be harsh and close-minded.

 

"Look I don't want to steal, my mom found some trouble about a year ago. Vertigo. I'm just trying to help her have the money she needs to get better." He pauses and looks away. I hadn't met his mom but I knew his life hadn't exactly been paradise.

 

"Just let him go." I say to Laurel before leaving. Ollie waited outside with his car, he opened the door for me to let me in before going around to his side.

 

"Don't leave yet. I want to say something to him." Ollie stays quiet because he disagrees but he knows that I need to have some sort of closure. We wait awhile for him to be released. Laurel comes outside first and walks over to our car.

 

"He will be out in a minute or so. I'll wait until it's over." I nod as I get out of the car and wait by the bottom of the stairs. He walks out of the door and stops at the top of the stairs when he sees me. I can tell that he doesn't want to do this, I'm not sure why though. Is he uncomfortable or ashamed? Does he just not care? I stay put and wait for him as he slowly descends the steps. He stands closer than I would expect and waits for me to talk.

 

"How could you?" I ask, trying to stay strong, get some answers before I turn away forever.

 

"It wasn't to hurt you." He attempts to step closer but I back up.

 

"Then why do it? Because it did hurt. I believed everything that you told and you turned out to be some thief, willing to steal from his own girlfriend." The anger is seething from my words, I don't understand how I believed his lie. Was I really so naive? Or was he just that good? Better than me?

 

"I didn't know that it was yours." Does he honestly believe that would help him?

 

"Wow, that's wonderful. Really, I'm glad everything is all cleared up now." The sarcasm is harsh and I can tell that he is getting upset, and desperate. I think briefly back to the night when my purse went missing. Roy and I had gone to some party and I left my purse in a pile among a few others. This was a rich kid party and rich kids didn't bother to steal from each other. When I came back, it was gone and when I used my friend's phone to call, horror fell upon my face as I heard my phone ring underneath Roy's signature sweatshirt. The guilt was written all over his face. Perhaps calling the police was a little over the top, but it had been Angela who dialed the phone when a few other things were missing.

 

"Life isn't easy outside of being a billionaire. Some of us need to do things to survive that we don't want to. It's better than starving or being homeless." His voice is on the verge of yelling, but I can tell that he is trying to maintain control, like I am.

 

"You could've said something, stealing isn't okay." I'm mad that I couldn't help him, I could've helped if I had known.

 

"Neither is driving under the influence of Vertigo." His words cut deep, I know that I'm not perfect, and I regret that night more than any, but at least it wasn't a repeated offense.

 

"I know that, I accept that what I did was wrong. I did it once though and how many priors do you have on your record?" He stays silent and rubs a hand through his hair.

 

"I'm sorry that I hurt you and that you found out this way that I'm not perfect. But it was never my intention to hurt you, I care about you. A lot." Roy says and I can tell that he is upset but before I can speak, he takes off running. Before turning around to go back to the car, I take a few deep breaths.

 

**Roy POV**

I should've said something more instead of just being an ass to her. I look back at her to see her trying to hold herself together. She didn't need me to let her down after the life she's had. I stare at her until she leaves, staring at the mess that I have made.

 

She climbs into her brother's car and I duck behind a car as they pass. I run home, desperate to be alone. She was a blessing in my hard life and I ruined it. My house is dark and empty, just as it should be.

 

After a late night, I awake to a sharp ringing coming from somewhere next to my ear. Groaning, I flip open my phone, it's either early or I must be hungover. Last night hits me and I remember downing a bottle of whiskey. Then I remember Thea, and how I hurt her.

 

"Hello?" I saw in a groggy voice.

 

"Roy Harper. I'd like to meet you." It's a deep voice, disguised. I'm instantly suspicious and slightly afraid. Who wants to meet me and why?

 

"Who is this?" I say angrily as I sit up in bed, probably a bad idea I realize as my head begins to pound.

 

"The Hood. It's come to my attention that you could be a very valuable asset to my team. I also know you don't exactly have a problem with breaking a few laws." The Hood. I'm not sure how he knows all this but I actually a little flattered. The Hood is Starling City's most wanted criminal.

 

"So what? You expect me to kill people?" I've never killed before and I'm not comfortable with the idea of killing anyone, at least without a purpose. There are plenty of lowlifes that I would be happy to kill. Like the guys who tried to mug Thea two months ago.

 

"If you kill anyone, they would deserve it. I give them a chance to do the right thing and they end up dead if they choose not to do it." His voice seems calm about what he says, granted it is a little more humane than killing outright but still, it's a death sentence.

 

"What if I say no?" I expect him to get angry at this question, but I need to know all my options.

 

"That's fine. However, this could be good for you and I pay a decent salary." His offer is intriguing. Maybe if I can clean my act up, then Thea...I stop myself before I cost myself anymore pain. She will never take me back.

 

"How can I trust you?" I ask, knowing that it is a dumb question.

 

"We can meet up, anywhere you want and talk." This surprises me.

 

"Okay, there's this coffee place called Turntable in the Glades. Meet me in twenty minutes." I say, this guy is dangerous and I'll admit I'm a little hesitant but I could have a decent opportunity. Worse case, I could just give his name to the police for immunity next time I get in trouble.

 

"One more thing, I need to know that you aren't going to give up my identity. If you are a danger to my secret, I will take any necessary precautions to protect myself. Is that understood?" His voice is serious, I still wonder who he is.

 

"Yes." I reply, and I know he means it. He has killed before and he'll kill again. Especially if it's someone like me. A lowlife thief from the Glades. No one would miss me. I get dressed and begin walking to the coffee place, I want to be there early. I get a table in the back corner and wait for someone to come in and recognize me. The Hood will know who I am.

 

I watch the door and suddenly see Thea's brother Oliver walk in with his bodyguard. What would he be doing here? They order some coffee and look around. His eyes land on me and he nods to his bodyguard. As they walk closer, I really contemplate running. I don't want to have this confrontation especially when the Hood is about to show up. They both sit down opposite of me.

 

"Hello Roy. I'm glad you chose to meet me." Oliver says and it all clicks into place.

 

"Holy shit, you're him?" Oliver nods and pulls out an envelope.

 

"Are you going join? I have list from my dead father of people who have corrupted the city and I'm looking to clean it up, make they behave or well you know. Think you can help me?" I take a second to think everything over. I know I can do it but am I willing to?

 

"Yes, I'll join. Exactly how decent is this salary?" I ask and Oliver laughs.

 

"Well I am a billionaire, here's a starting bonus. What do you say we drive to the headquarters and review go over some training?" I nod and finish my coffee before standing up to leave.

 

We walk into his club and through a door with a keypad lock. Down a flight of stairs I see a blonde working on the computer and a whole bunch of equipment, from arrows to training equipment to computers. There is a blonde girl who turns her attention from the computers to me.

 

"This is Felicity, she's our IT girl." Oliver smiles at her and she gives me a brief smile.

 

"This is Roy, our new...sidekick." I look around again and take a deep breath. This might be good for me, or it might be my end. At least, I can believe that I'm doing something for the greater good.

 

**One Month Later**

"I'm going go for a walk." I say before standing up to leave.

 

"Dressed like that?" Ollie points to my costume. I shrug as I glance over the red leather.

 

"Does this have anything to do with Thea?" He knows I overheard them talking on the phone about her going on a date. It's not like I can say yes.

 

"No, just looking for bad guys." He gives me a look but ends the conversation so I begin to ascend the stairs.

 

"Just don't let her see your face." He shouts to me. I want to make a comment about him and Felicity but I decide not to embarrass her. I can see that soon enough something will bud between them but it's best to just let it happen. I take my new motorcycle to the club where Thea had said they were going. I reach the parking lot behind it and climb the fire escape to look through the windows of the second floor. Though the place is crowded I find them soon enough. The guy looks like some rich bastard. I watch them for awhile and I see him whisper something to her and they head for the door.

 

Quickly, I climb down the fire escape and pull on my helmet. My bike is ready to leave as soon as they do. Thea walks out first and the guy keeps reaching for her but she is keeping him at a distance. They get in the car and pull out and I follow them down a few roads before they pull into a empty parking lot without any lights, or people around. I know something bad is going to happen. I pull down the street and park my bike out of sight before walking to get a better view. I see her looking uncomfortable and he leans over and starts kissing her below the neck. I see her push him away but he holds her hands back. I feel the adreneline kick and I sprint to his door. It's locked so I knock out the glass and unlock it before yanking him off of her and out of the car. She lets out a scream and gets out of the car. I start to punch him.

 

"Stop!" Thea yells and I can hear that she is frightened. I pause, unable to cause her anymore distress.

 

"He was forcing himself on you." I'm glad I still have the voice decoder on. I grow angry again and lift my fist but she grabs my arm and pulls me back.

 

"Stop, he gets the point." The guy stands and yells before getting in his car and speeding off. I don't turn around.

 

"Thank you." She says. I can hear the uneasiness in her voice. She doesn't know who I am. She stays quiet for a moment before I hear her gasp and I turn around keeping my head down.

 

"You're the Red Hood, the Hood's sidekick, right?" She asks before taking a step back.

 

"Yes, I won't hurt you though." She stands still but I sense that she is scared. We're all alone and she takes another step back, further into the dark of the night. I step forward. I can't see her face very clearly and since my back is to any form of light, I know that she can't see mine.

 

"Let me bring you home or at least somewhere safer." I offer, wanting to steal some more time with her and also wanting to get her out of this empty parking lot in the middle of nowhere safe.

 

"Why should I trust you?" She asks.

 

"Because I won't hurt you. I did just save you from that douche bag." She turns her head to the side before turning back to me. I hear a heavy sigh as she steps forward.

 

"If only you had shown up a month ago." I realize that comment is about me.

 

"Does this sort of thing happen often?" My feet bring me closer and I reach out for her. My hand rests on her arm.

 

"Not usually." Her voice is shaky, her breathing is a little ragged. I don't want to scare her but all I can think about is kissing her. My hand slowly travels up her arm to her face and I lean in, gently pressing my lips to hers. At first she stills but then she pulls me a little closer.

 

Before we leave, I make sure to ask her where she lives. If I just drove her home then she would get suspicious or scared. We drive through the night and she hugs me tight. I make sure to give her my jacket since she isn't exactly dressed for a night ride and my helmet so that she's safe. When I pull into her driveway, I stop before the lighted area and put down the kickstand. It's dark enough that she can't see me. I even make sure to pull up the hood on my sweatshirt as a precaution. She slides the helmet off her head and hands it to me.

 

"Thanks for the ride home...can I at least know your first name?" Thea has that charming pull to her, where you just want to tell her all of your secrets. I know that I can't though because that would mean telling her Ollie's secret, at least partially.

 

"No, just call me Red." She looks down and nods.

 

"What if I want to see you again?" I feel like she knows it's me. Her gaze is just penetrating through me.

 

"Tomorrow night, meet me at eight at the park, you know where the water fountain is?" Thea nods and waves slightly before rushing inside her house. I see Oliver pull back the curtain and wave down to me. I pull out of the driveway to the garage. A few minutes later Oliver walks up.

 

"What happened?" Ollie asks as he leans against the wall.

 

"The guy got a little handsy so I saved her and she wants to see me tomorrow night." I add in a cocky grin. I was fine having my identity be a secret if it meant that I got to see her.

 

"That's too dangerous. She'll find out the truth soon enough. Besides, she'll be devastated if she finds out that it's you. That you lied to her like that." I keep my face as a mask.

 

"Believe me, Tommy was really pissed that I kept it from him. Diggle hated what I did before I convinced him to join. Felicity is just waiting to find Walter and then she is quitting. Do you really want to risk Thea's little trust for this?" As much as his words made sense, I didn't want to listen.

 

"She hates me, we are never going to be friends or anything more unless I can convince that I'm not just some hoodlum thief. Which I can't. Maybe this is just an extension on our relationship. I don't care if it's one more night, if I can just have some time with her." I wish he could just see that I needed this. Needed her.

 

"Roy-" Oliver started but I quickly cut him off.

 

"No, Thea is the first person to care about me in a long time. I can't just let her go. Don't you realize that I can do this without your permission?"

 

"I care about you, too. I'm only saying something to protect both of you from getting hurt. Just wait it out and confront her in a little while, try to talk it out. Time will help her." He seems to think that he's right, and it is a common trait of his that I've learned to not always trust.

 

"It won't. She'll forget about me and move on. Besides, time isn't going to help me. I can't just wait around and hope. I'm taking control." I pulled on my helmet and sped off towards my house.

 

Sunlight shone through the window right into my eyes. I groaned as I sat up in bed. Tonight I would see Thea. I stood up and began to riffle through my new clothes. I grabbed a red t-shirt and pulled on some jeans before going to pull on my jacket. I couldn't find it anywhere. I grabbed my black leather jacket and pulled on my helmet. I knew that I had an extra jacket at the lair. When I got there, Felicity was playing around with the computer.

 

"Oliver told about your little date tonight. I agree that it's not the best tactic. I know you're desperate but maybe you should try to woo her. It's better than time." I shrugged.

 

"Either way, I can't just stand her up tonight. It's not safe for her to be out on her own." I supplied.

 

"Oliver can keep her inside." Felicity was good at arguing, he had learned that between her fights with Oliver. She was the only one allowed to fight with him, and even then he still got pretty pissed.

 

"What if she sneaks out or he has an emergency with the Hood?" I knew that I couldn't outwit her but I had to try.

 

"Then you'd be off to help him anyways." She smirked.

 

"Whatever, you don't have to be the smartest person in the room all the time." I stuck out my tongue for emphasis.

 

"Actually she does." Oliver gave Felicity a warm smile before turning to me.

 

"Thea has your jacket by the way." Oliver said nonchalantly. 

 

"Yeah, I know. Which is why I'm grabbing my spare." My hand hovered above the leather as Oliver's next words hit me.

 

"And staying for training?" I nodded and picked up a tennis ball before throwing it. Oliver grabbed an arrow from his quiver and shot it.

 

"Looks like you're all set." I pick up a spare bow and begin practicing. Time goes by slowly but finally it's six and Oliver says I can go home. Felicity left to go get food for the two of them.

 

"Okay, and have fun on your date." I smiled. Ollie glared at me.

 

"It's not a-" He immediately cut off his sentence when the door opened and Felicity began to descend the stairs. Oliver rushed to take the bag from her since she wasn't balancing so well with those heels on. She stumbled slightly and put her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. I put the bow on the rack and grabbed my jacket. These two were so clueless but so annoyingly flirtatious. I hopped on my bike and pulled on the helmet before speeding off to my house. I needed to change and shower before leaving. Once dressed, it was about 6:30, so I got some food from the diner down the road. Finally it was 7:30 when I got back home so I sprayed on my new cologne and pulled on my jacket. Before running out the door, I grabbed some mints as well as my helmet.

 

The whole way there I sped through the traffic and waited by the fountain with my hood up under the shade of a tree. It was quite dark but by eight it would be pitch black since there were no lights in this part of the park. I waited for Thea to show. I saw a young woman in a red coat walking towards the fountain and decided to walk over to the other side.

 

"Red?" She calls out hesitantly. Thea, of course she would wear a red coat.

 

"Yes. I'm surprised you came." I scan the area for anyone else. Luckily we are all clear. I begin to make my way towards her slowly.

 

"That makes two of us." I chuckle and as I get closer I see that she is wearing my jacket and for once, sensible shoes. She takes a step closer.

 

"There's something intriguing about you. I know that you're dangerous and that I'm so stupid for meeting you but I had to come." She isn't one to point out any stupidity on her own part and I briefly wonder just how much this past month has affected her.

 

"Do you say that every guy?" My voice sounds harsh and evil but she still steps forward, despite the decoder.

 

"How many vigilantes do you think I've met?" The sentence is purely hers. She's teasing me and being charming again.

 

"No, the intriguing part." I clarify.

 

"I may have used the line before, but only when I meant it." I can hear her voice waver slightly. I remember her using it on me when we met.

 

"Hmm...you seem a little rough around the edges. Some jerk break your heart?" I'm not sure why I say this. Why would I want to hear her say how much she hates me?

 

"Yeah, and he stole my purse too." I force myself not to overreact or let her see me flinch as she says this.

 

"Real lowlife." I force out.

 

"Yeah, you wouldn't think so though. He was really nice but I can't just date a criminal." The way she states the last part is almost like a question but perhaps I am just imagining the underlying tone.

 

"What do you think I am?" Thea is so strong willed but she can be blind sometimes. I'm the very definition of criminal, exactly the type that she shouldn't be around. However, she can't stay away and neither can I.

 

"Well I guess you're right. But those men you kill. They're all just corrupted and money hungry, right? You don't target women and children." She sits on the edge of the fountain and I sit beside her.

 

"No, we don't. I don't exactly agree with the whole killing thing but he gives them a chance to do the right thing and well I was recruited because I don't really have a guilty conscience, especially for bad guys." She smiles sadly and reaches over to grab my hand.

 

"Are you okay?" I ask.

 

"You just remind me of someone." Suddenly she stands up, pulling me with her. Thea hates sitting around and she wants to experience life.

 

"Take me for a ride, please." I nod and she goes to retrieve something from behind a tree.

 

"I brought my helmet for my brother's bike. Come on, let's go. I want to spend every second of tonight with you. I need to escape for a little while." I take her hand and run towards my bike. She laughs and love how she looks in the red leather jacket. When we reach the bike, I swing my leg over and slid on my helmet. She slides on right behind me and wraps her arms around my torso as tight as she can. My foot hits the kickstand and I rev the bike and pull off into the night. I swerve between the traffic at high speeds. I feel her rest her head against my shoulder and I pull into a dark park close to my house. I park the bike close by and take her hand in mine as I guide her to an open spot. We lay down on the grass and I pull off my helmet and lift up my hood. She mimics my motion.

 

"Do you think I could pass as you?" She asks in a low voice. I realize that she is teasing but the thought of someone mistaking her for me, a bullet piercing her beautiful heart, it feels like a bullet just ripped through my heart.

 

"Close your eyes." I command. She does so and I pull her scarf off and tie it around her eyes.

 

"I can't let you peek. If you see me, then someone could use it against you." I lean in and softly kiss her lips. Her hands find the back of my neck and pull me closer, her tongue dances across my bottom lip. I push her down and position myself over her. After a minute or so, she breaks the kiss and is breathing hard.

 

"You really shouldn't kiss me like that. I've never even seen your face." Thea bites her lip in that sexy way that makes me want to kiss her forever.

 

"You have." I answer truthfully.

 

"I know you? Have I met you?" She tries to see my face as she pulls off the scarf but I pull back.

 

"I can't tell you anything more than that." She sighs and shrugs, laying back against grass.

 

"I guess that I have to live with that answer then." I hope that is all that she has to live with.

 

**One Week Later**

Felicity works on the computer and suddenly she calls me over to watch a news clip. Ollie drops his bow on the table and walks over as well.

 

"Hey, Red. I got your girl over here. Maybe you would like to stop by, switch places. I mean Thea Queen, what a waste of a beautiful girl. I expect you here by midnight. Alone. No Hood." Michael Crone, a huge drug lord in the city. Well at least we can cross off the list.

 

"I was afraid of this." Ollie says and begins pulling on his jacket.

 

"You heard what he said!" I yell after him.

 

"Don't worry. You'll go in and as soon as she's safe and protected, then I'll take him out. We are a team and you can't go without me. Besides, she is my little sister."

<\-----<< * >>\-----> 

"Thea!" She is sitting there, frantic eyes and messed up hair. Tied and gagged and my heart breaks at the sight. I never wanted to see Thea in the cross fire and I realize that Ollie was right and that I crossed the line.

 

"Red! Welcome, your little doll is over here. Let's take a seat and get you all tied up, shall we?" Crone says and I mentally count the four body guards in the room, probably more nearby.

 

"Let her go, now! Or I'll shoot you." I raise my bow and see a man behind Thea lift a gun to her head. Crone raises a hand and Thea is untied but the man still holds the gun to her head.

 

"Let her go!" I suddenly feel two hands grab my arms as someone takes my bow. I try to fight them but it's no use, my arms are now tied behind my back. The man lets Thea go and she rushes to me. I feel her arms wrap around me and I wish I could hold her as well.

 

"There's a car outside, run." I pull back in an effort to shorten this moment and get her out of this place. She takes off to the door and I count down the seconds before I'm sure that she is safe, that Diggle must have her. It's been nearly a minute and a half, Crone keeps talking but I don't hear a word. Suddenly an arrow is protruding from the chest of the guy beside me. I lean over and slice the rope with the knife still in his hand. Within fifteen seconds, the henchmen are all on the ground. Ollie jumps down with an arrow pointed at Crone.

 

"Michael Crone, you have failed this city." The arrow hits him in the heart and he falls over. I take a deep breath and assess the damage. Ollie and I leave the building and take the bikes back to the lair. The car is waiting by the bikes and I see Thea get out as we get closer.

 

"Red. Thank you." She looks over to Ollie and I can tell that she is trying to see our faces. She walks closer but I step back.

 

"This can't continue Thea. Good bye." I get on my bike and quickly pull on my helmet before speeding off. I can't see her heart broken again. It's too dangerous for us to be together though.

 

As I drove home, I tried to stay on course. I wanted to go see Thea, as myself. See if maybe I could comfort her. However even my secret identity could be harmful to her. I just can't risk her safety.

 

I pull my bike into the garage and went to collapse on my bed. After a few minutes of attempting to sleep though, a knock sounded at the door. Groaning, I stood up.

 

"Look I don't really..." I trailed off when I realized who was waiting outside.

 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come." Thea says and looks down before turning away. She looks broken now, the fear and shock of the kidnapping and the breakup must have hit her full force when I left.

 

"No, I thought you were someone else." It's not like I could say that I thought Ollie had come to give me a lecture on breaking his little sister's heart.

 

"Someone else?" She questioned, and I could tell she was upset, as if I was seeing someone else. I lightly reached for her hand.

 

"Come in, it's cold and you look a little shaken up." She nodded and I waved to Diggle who nodded before pulling down the street. I kept her hand in mine as I pulled her through the dark house to my room. She sat on my bed and laid down.

 

"Tell me about it." I said as I laid beside her, like we used to do when we would just talk for hours.

 

"Well, um I got kidnapped because some villain wanted to capture Red, the new vigilante. I was sort of seeing him and so he came and I escaped. When he came outside though he said that it was over. How could you just act like that? I was just in the most terrifying situation ever and I was just left with a chauffeur. Something just made me want to see you. I forgive you Roy and I hope that you don't hate me." I was surprised to see Thea here, without me begging on my knees. She had come to me.

 

"I could never hate you." Leaning in, I kissed her lips, I was upset that I had hurt her and that I couldn't restrain myself. However, it was nice to have her want me, Roy, again. The kiss began to deepen and her hands trailed my chest under my shirt and pulled it over my head.

 

"Thea...we can't." I groaned as she began to kiss my neck. I flipped her over and hovered over her, out of reach for her to kiss me or tempt me any further.

 

"What? Why? Come on, Roy." Her hands began to slide to my belt but I quickly grabbed them and held them back.

 

"No, you're upset and traumatized and you are only looking for something to make you feel good. I'm sorry but I can't let you do something that you are going to regret." She huffed and I knew that she was mad, probably just because she knew that I was right. It didn't matter if she hated me tomorrow, I wasn't going to let her regret anything.

 

"Why am I getting rejected? Am I ugly or something?" I let her hands go and leaned down to kiss her softly.

 

"No, you are beautiful and amazing, he is a jerk and I'm just too nice...for a gang banger." Thea started laughing.

 

"Damn, I know how to pick them, huh?" I nudged her.

 

"Excuse me? I'm laying right next to you." I leaned over, kissing her on the cheek.

 

"Yeah, I know." A moment of silence passed between us and Thea intertwined our fingers.

 

"Does this mean that you love me again?" My voice was hesistant but I had to know. Thea was the only person that really cared about me. Oliver said he did but I wasn't so convinced just yet. 

 

"I have...I was hurt and well I guess that I'm ready to forgive you." Her eyes met mine and I felt a relief at her words. 

 

"Good, it's been too long. I'm an idiot, that much I know. However, I'm done with my gang-banger life. I haven't stolen anything since the last time I saw you at the station." It was true, I worked for Oliver now and I had broken my old habits. Thea's eyes lit up at my words. 

 

"Good." She smiled and let out a soft groan as her phone started going off.

 

"Thea, where are you? You just kidnapped and you thought it was a good idea to go spend the night at a friend's?" Moira's voice filtered out of the phone. You could hear Ollie in the background.

 

"Mom-" Thea started before being cut off by her mother's worried voice.

 

"Home, now. I'm sending Diggle back." Thea gave an awkward smile and hung up her phone.

 

"Of course, come here." Thea turned to face me and began to slowly kiss me. Her lips trailed from mine and began to descend, to my neck and then to my shoulder.

 

"Hey, no fair. I said not tonight." She kept going and finally, I pushed myself lower on the bed and captured her lips in my own. She laughed.

 

"But I was having so much fun." She pouted and I shook my head.

 

"Thea. I love you." We both smiled and then a knock sounded on the door. Thea kissed my cheek and stood up to leave. She might have to leave now, but at least she was back to being mine. I just had to protect my secret, and maybe that would be enough to protect her.

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you think? Please comment and let me know if there's room for improvement...


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